Extent to which Terrorism has Affected Tourism in Turkey - Research Paper Example

The success of the tourism industry is contingent upon the security of tourism destinations. Widespread terrorism that has taken place during the 21st century has believed to reduce the amount of tourism across the world, which consequently has implications on the economic, environmental and social aspects of the country affected. The primary concern among various governments, particularly the developed countries constitutes protecting their citizens from adversities associated with terrorism in the course of cross-border tourism.

Such travel advisories minimize the amount of tourism across various destinations. This is believed to have caused a number of travel advisories that have been issued to countries such as Kenya, South Sudan, Iraq, Iran, and mostly Somalia. BBC (2015) reported that the fear of repeat attacks in Tunisia forced more than 3,500 tourists to desert the country during the week ending June 29, 2015. Chesney, Reshetar, and Karaman (2011) argue that regardless of the cost-cutting strategy adopted by countries affected by terrorism, the majority of the tourists are not easily lured back because they believe that consequences are greater than the marginal cut in costs. 1.1.

1 Theoretical FoundationsThe interaction between terrorism and tourism has been explored by theorists, leading to the development of the theory of power deflations, communication theory of terrorism, terrorism, and political violence theory as the main theoretical approaches underpinning the topic of this study. These theories inform this study because the theorists strived to link terrorism and tourism based on the known models and relationships tested through various studies. The theories actually explain why the situation is the way it is in Turkey, which is critical in understanding such a relationship and providing ways of suggesting solutions. 1.1.

2 Terrorism and Tourism in Modern-day TurkeyTurkey is one of the countries that have been subjected to widespread terrorism across places and times. As a parliamentary republic in Eurasia, Turkey is located in Western Asia and borders Southeast Europe. Turkey is surrounded by hotbeds of terrorism including Iraq, Syria, Iran, and Armenia, which exposes it to chances of being hit by the terrorism menace. On April 9, 2016, for example, the United States issued a travel advisory in Turkey citing the credible threat of terrorist attacks in tourism areas.